Circular loom



Marph 24, 1936- J. 1. VILLA ET AL CIRCULAR LOOM Filed July 16, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 24, 1936.

Filed July 16, 1934 A rr omvfr March 24, 1936. L A ET AL 2,035,208

CIRCULAR LOOM Filed-July 16, 1934 .4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig 4.

Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES CIRCULAR LOOM Julio Izaguirre Villa and William Robertson MacEwan, Dundee, Scotland, assignors to The Weaving Machines Company, Limited, London,

England Application July 16, 1934, Serial No. 735,526 In Great Britain July 25, 1933 Claims.

This invention relates to circular looms of the type in which the warp shed is formed parallel with the axis of weaving or, in other words, lies substantially in a cylindrical surface co-axially 5 of said weaving axis; such a loom is described and claimed in the complete specification of the prior British Patent No. 336,246 and in United States Patent No. 1,860.975.

In a loom according to the British patent referred to, the warp threads pass in a direction substantially parallel with, or inclined at a comparatively small angle to, the central axis through a stationary reed-like annular frame, each radial cross member of which is formed with an under- 5 cut transverse recess in which a shuttle carrier is adapted to engage so as to be restrained positively to travel in a path determined by said recessed cross member, and a plurality of levers, pivoted intermediately of their lengths about 20 horizontal axes, extend each radially inwards from its pivot to engage in the groove of a cylindrical grooved cam concentric with the weaving axis, and radially outwards from the pivot to pass, as it is rocked about said pivot by the ac- 25 tion of said cam, through the warp shed to cooperate with a shuttle or its carrier to impel the shuttle, and to bear subsequently against,- the deposited weft thread to beat-up said thread. In such a loom the cylindrical cam is, as a rule,

30 fast upon the central drive shaft by which also through the medium of cams or eccentrics the healds or heddle frames extending radially beneath the shuttle path are usually operated, as may also be operated means for maintaining the 35 tension of the warp threads substantially constant as the warp sheds are formed and reformed.

In the prior British specification No. 380,794 there is described and claimed improved mech- 40 anism for shuttle impelling and weft thread beating-up in a loom of the kind referred to, a plurality of substantially L-shaped members, mounted to move substantially vertically up and down in sequence, each substantially in the di- 45 rection of its stem or upright limb, serving as a track for, and to impel, the shuttles, and each member carrying at its upper end a reed for spacing the warp and beating-up the weft threads.

50 The present invention has for an object to provide further improvements in that part of a loom, of the kind referred to, which serves for impelling the shuttles, beating-up the weft thread and maintaining proper spacing of the 55 Warp threads.

'come successively into driving co-operation with the shuttle carrier and so impel it uninterruptedly around the track.

Preferably, the shuttle carrier is formed with rack teeth at its outer or inner margin and the rotary driving members are in the form of pinions each with a vertical drive shaft extending downwardly therefrom to be in turn driven at its lower end, by spur gearing or equivalent, from a central drive shaft by which the cylindrical cam is driven and the healds or heddle frames are operated.

One form of the invention as applied to a two shuttle loom of the kind referred to, having means for operating the healds or heddle frames according to the prior British Patent No. 392,068

and means for maintaining constant the tension of the warp threads according to prior British Patent No. 380,793, and United States Patent No. 1,949,571 is illustrated by the accompanying drawings; of which,

Figure 1 is a view showing the relevant parts of a loom in sectional elevation on the line |-l of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional plan view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and,

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic development, not to scale, showing the positions occupied by the 40 reed-members and the shuttles, around the circle 3-3 of Figure 2; whilst,

Figures 4 and 5 are fragmentary views drawn to an enlarged scale showing a detail in side and in end elevation, respectively.

As shown, a fixed upright shaft ll co-axial with the central axis of weaving has rotatable therearound a tubular drive shaft l2 from which the moving parts of the loom derive their motion. Each warp thread, of which two are indicated by broken lines, passes upwardly from a warp beam (not shown) through a fixed distributing ring l3, within a flexible but non-extensible warp tensioning hoop l4, over a fixed ring [5 by which the bottom of the shed is determined, through an eye, e. g., l6, of a heald, and, within a second fixed ring I1 determining the top of the shed, and thence to the usual web receiving beam (not shown).

The warp tensioning means employed are in accordance with prior British Patent No. 380,- 793 and United States Pat. No. 1,949,571 and comprise simply the flexible ring M of more or less springy material which encircles the cen i tral axis of weaving and is of such dimension as to bear radially upon all the warp-threads and to be distorted out of its natural circular form by the varying pressure of said threads thereon as the sheds are formed and reformed; said ring. |4 being free to move at all points radially inwards and outwards from the central axis of weaving but restrained against axial motion.

The operation of the heddle frames of the loom, which are indicated at l8 (see particularly Figure 2) and are disposed in a series of upper and lower pairs uniformly around the axis of weaving, is in accordance with prior British Patent No. 392,068 and comprises a single cam I9 fast on the tubular drive shaft l2 and having at its upper face an eccentric groove 20, and for each pair of upper and lower heddle frames l8 a corresponding pair of upper and lower racks 2| and 22; each lower rack 22 having a downward extension 23 which is slidable on a rectangular section radial guide rod 24 and carries a roller 25 which co-operates as a follower with the groove 20 of the cam l9, whilst motion is transmitted from the lower rack 22 to the corresponding upper rack 2| through the medium of a pinion 26.

The tubular drive shaft I2 also has fast thereon a cylindrical cam 21 with the track 28 of which co-operate the rollers 29 of a series of slides 30 which are moved upwardly and allowed to move downwardly each on a pair of guide rods 3| by the cam 21 and, being equal in number to the number of pairs of upper and lower heddle frames l8, carry each a reed member 32 which (see Figure 2) is substantially rectangular in shape so that between each reed member 32 and its neighbour there is left clear a sector-shaped space. From their inner ends, however, (see Figure 2) the'blades of each reed member 32 extend radially of the central axis to points therein just outside the diameter of the top of the warp shed. A series of fixed shuttle track members 33, each of which has a deeply undercut shoulder 34 at its inner end, is accommodated in the sector-shaped spaces between the reed members 32, and the shuttle, indicated by broken lines at 35, is mounted detachably upon an arcuate carrier 36, the outer margin of which is toothed and which is formed near its outer margin with an upstanding flange 31. It will be seen from Figure 2 of the drawings that this shuttle carrier 36 is substantially equal in length to the distance measured around the shuttle track between one track member 33 and the next track member 33 but two, so that without any interference with either the reed members 32 or the movement of the warp threads during shedding, the shuttle 35 is at all times amply supported throughout its travel around the shuttle track. The tubular drive shaft l2 has also fast thereon a large diameter spur wheel 38, the teeth of which mesh with a series of pinions 39 fast upon the lower ends of a plurality of vertical drive shafts 40 equal in number to the shuttle track members 33 and each of which has fast upon its upper end a pinion 4| with which is formed integrally a flange 42, the diameter of which is so much greater than the overall diameter of the teeth thereof as will enable the co-operation of the flange 31 of the shuttle carrier 36 with the flanges 42 of said pinion 4| to ensure free meshing of the teeth of said carrier 36 with those of successive pinions 4|, despite the outward thrust of the carrier 36 on said pinions 4| due to centrifugal force as a shuttle 35 is impelled around its track by the means described. It will be seen that the pinions 4| with their integral flanges 42 serve not only for connecting the shuttle 35 with the drive thereof but also as rollers against which the shuttle runs; it being important that the centrifugal force of the shuttle should be taken by means which introduce but little friction, especially where it is desired, as is usual, to run the loom at high speed. In this connection, it has been found possible to run a loom as described at a speed so high as one hundred revolutions per minute without any ill effect upon the quality of the web produced or upon reliability of operation.

In the case, for example, of a large loom making broad cloth, a shuttle carrier may be formed at its inner margin with rack teeth for co-operation with the drive pinion, rollers or other means being provided for co-operation with the outer margin of the carrier to resist thev outward thrust of the shuttle.

It will be seen that by the present invention an eflicient drive for the shuttle is provided and that, at the same time, proper warp thread spacing is maintained by the reed members 32; it being impossible for even a single warp thread to shift out of its proper place because it remains always between two blades of a reed member. From Figure 3 of the drawings it will be clear that although the reed members pass successively beneath the shuttles and their carriers they nevertheless do not at any time come into contact with either a shuttle or its carrier, their up and down movement being solely for the purpose of beating-up the weft threads, as indicated at 43 in that figure.

Each weft thread 43 (see Figures 4 and 5) passes as it leaves the corresponding shuttle 35 through an eye 44 of a trip-member 45 and so maintains the latter elevated about a pivot 46 on the shuttle carrier 36 to an extent determined by a stop 41. The shuttle carrier 36 is formed with an opening 48 through which the trip-member 45 projects, when not maintained elevated,

as in the event of breakage of the weft thread 43, as shown in broken lines in Figure 4. The shuttle track members 33 are grooved, as indicated at 49, across their upper faces to give passage to the lowered trip-member 45 and in the case of at least one track member 33 there extends vertically therethrough from the groove 49 a guideway for a control rod 5|] supported by a rocking lever 5| to which it is pivotally attached at its lower end. The lever 5| is pivoted, as indicated at 52, on a fixed part of the loom and is coupled with means (not shown) for controlling the operation of the loom. Normally the upper end of the control rod 50 lies in the path of the trip-member 45; the arrangement being such that when a weft thread 43 breaks and the tripmember 45 drops it will depress the control rod 50, shift the rocking lever 5| correspondingly and so bring about such action (e. g., under spring influence) of the means for controlling the operation of the loom as will cause the latter to stop. It will be seen that in this way trouble resulting from breakage of a weft thread is reduced to a minimum.

What we claim is:

1. In a circular loom of the type wherein the warp shed is formed substantially parallel with the axis of weaving, a driving means substantially coaxial with the central axis of weaving, reed members having their inner ends substantially radial with respect to the axis of weaving, and projected beyond the radial portions in substantially parallel relation to provide divergent spaces between adjacent reeds outwardly of the radial portions thereof, shuttle carrier supports mounted in said spaces, a shuttle carrier guided by said supports, cooperating means on the shuttle carrier and on said supports to compel constant uniform movement of the shuttle carrier, and means for operating the reeds toward and from a plane below the plane of movement of the shuttle carrier to a plane substantially coincident with the top of the warp shed for beating up, the reeds maintaining accurate spacing of the warp threads at all times.

2. A construction as defined in claim I, where in the shuttle carrier is designated to simultaneously cooperate with a plurality of supports, and wherein the supports are formed to prevent -movement of the carrier beyond its operating formed to provide a rollerbearing for the carmen 4. A construction as defined in claim 1, wherein the cooperating means on the supports and on the shuttle carrier for operating the latter include a driven pinion on the support and cooperating teeth on the carrier, the pinion being provided with a disk and the adjacent edge of the carrier being formed with a projection to bear against the edge of the disk to provide a roller bearing for the carrier, with the edge of the carrier underlying the disk to-prevent upward movement of the carrier in operation.

5. In a circular loom of the type referred to, a driving means centrally coaxial with the central axis of weaving, reed members substantially rectangular in plan disposed about the axis of weaving, the form of the reed members defining sector-shaped spaces between adjacent reed members, mechanism operated by the driving means for reciprocating the reed members, track supports arranged in the sector-shaped spaces between the reed members, a shuttle carrier mounted on and movable relative to saidsupports, means operated from the driving means for driving the shuttle carrier, a trip member mounted on the shuttle carrier, and. a loom operating control member arranged beneath the shuttle carrier, said trip member cooperating with the weft thread of the shuttle to maintain the trip member out of the path of the control member while the weft thread is intact, the

breakage of the weft thread permitting the trip member to be moved into the path of the control member for the control of the loom.

JULIO IZAGUIRRE VILLA. WILLIAM ROBERTSON MAcEWAN. 

